uncomfortable truth

I just felt like blogging.
But to be honest, I don't even have that much to say. So I'll just tell you all the things I'm thinking about. A few funny quotes or clever things my students have said: (sorry facebook fans, I know you've probably already hear them)
- watching one of my students write this question (pertaining to our folktale) on his paper for leading discussions: Assess how I would feel about taking a girl for my wife that I do not seriously love. 

 - Watching my students create airplanes etc. for a science experiment and one of them telling me: Miss, I made this one more aerodynamic that the others that's why it's moving through the air faster.

- Student: Who first figured out that there were particles in the air? ( There are seriously way too many times I have to say I don't know, I'll look that up. Or wait, hang on, back it up, I told you that backwards. Especially in Science.)

- Student after school: Good bye, have a good weekend. I will miss you very much!

- Student: I can't wait for you wedding. Don't worry I'm already working on the invitations.

 

Just love those kids. I seriously need to stop loving them so much or the end of this year is going to be even more difficult than last...

 

The other day I asked my students to help me know what they would like to learn about in devotions, they told me that they wanted to listen to more songs, read psalms and an overwhelming amount really want to study Revelation.

 

What?! Really ten year olds? You want me to teach you about Revelation? 

 

To which I prayed: Really God? You want me to teach these children about it? I've been avoiding that book since I was their age! I don't know. 

 

So I am asking God for wisdom, on whether I should teach this to them... and how to teach it, since I know Christians don't all view it the same. And how to make it applicable and understandable to 10 year old ESL students? 

All I know is this: I want my students to know that they can ask hard questions in my class about God. That they can learn. That they can grow. Because when I asked them, why do you want to learn about this book? They replied, "Because nobody wants to teach it to us... it's too hard they say." 

 

And with so many of the tough questions that kids really want to know- we back away. Partially because we've backed away from them ourselves. So I am taking a hard look at the parts of the Bible that I don't like to hear, the parts I don't want to hear, because they don't fit my mold. And I'm letting myself ask those questions. If I believe all of the Bible is true, why do I stick to only certain parts of it? Doesn't all of it contain equal truth, whether it's easy truth or not? Whether it goes against our culture or not?

So here I am in a quest to rediscover some of the hard truths in the Bible. And instead of just saying I won't understand, I'm going to attempt to dive into it. 

This week, Honduras will celebrate Bible Day. This is celebrating the day when the Bible was translated into Spanish. I've never experienced not having a Bible in my own language. I've never experienced not having a Bible. I've always had one, or two or four. As this Bible day comes, not only will I ask God to reveal the truth to me, but I will also be reminded of how blessed I am to have the very Word of God written in my own language. I once heard some one say, read the Bible like you've never read it before. 

That's what I want, eyes to see it like I've never seen it before. 

A hunger to read it like I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Guide me Lord. 

And as if I haven't already made this entirely too long (I take back what I said at the beginning about not really having anything to say), I am also going to share a song that has meant a lot to me in the past few weeks. This has been my prayer: 

 

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me on magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

 

Amen, Lord.  Lead me on, I will RUN after you.